Frequency of placental infarct and fetal outcome in hypertensive primigravidas

Samra Yousaf Butt, Sara Ejaz, Khadija Waheed.

AbstractObjective: To determine the frequency and type of placental infarcts in primigravidas having Pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) and to determine the fetal outcome in hypertensive primigravidas with placental infarcts.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Services Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan from July, 2014 to December, 2014 and included 350 patients with PIH. After delivery, the placenta of all the patients was sent for pathology and they were assessed for determination of presence or absence of placental infarct. Regarding fetal outcome, the newborns were assessed for birth weight, small for gestational age (SGA) and still birth.
Results: Placental infarcts were found in 113 (32.2%) patients. Out of these, focal infarcts were in 71 (62.8%) and multi focal infarcts in 42 (37.2%) patients. Stillbirths was found in 11 cases (3.2%) while SGA was found in 6 cases (1.7%). Risk ratio (RR) was calculated for strata of PIH and was found significant for sever PIH.
Conclusion: Sever PIH is a risk factor for SGA and placental infarcts among primigravida. Therefore, significant effort is needed to prevent primigravida for these grave complications due to PIH.